


Taking the Test

by WinchesterWarrenSon



Series: Battle Scars Series [11]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Developmentally Disabled Son Goku, Disabled Character, Discussion of Dark Themes, M/M, R-Word Usage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 17:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3858847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinchesterWarrenSon/pseuds/WinchesterWarrenSon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Direct sequel to Driving Lessons. Yamcha, Goku, Oolong, and Puar decide to get Goku tested to see just how extensive his difficulty with learning, executive functioning, and information processing really is. Mrs. Briefs just so happens to be certified to do said testing. The results are . . . interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking the Test

They didn't bring it up to Goku immediately, Puar and Oolong. They didn't even really bring it to Yamcha's attention either. 

But one evening after long days at work for everyone, and even Goku didn't mind just sitting on the couch to watch TV (though he did go from sitting upright to hanging on the couch, legs hooked over the back of the couch, and watching it upside down). There wasn't anything too entertaining on, and Yamcha was in control of the remote. He changed the channel repeatedly, eventually getting so tired of doing that that he stopped on one of the news channels. The news channels often had sensationalized true story mini-documentaries on during the evening after the actual newscasts. 

They watched it for a few minutes to get what it was about, but Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar realized what it was about long before Goku could really comprehend what it was talking about. 

Wanting to protect Goku from such a subject, Yamcha quickly changed the channel. 

"Hey!" Goku protested, and Yamcha's finger paused over the channel button. 

"What?" 

"Put it back!" 

Yamcha hesitated, but he did as asked. 

It was talking about various mental institutions and the horrors that occurred inside them, including a place called the Judge Rotenberg Center. Yamcha was familiar with the center and had known what the documentary was about the moment that he heard the name. Though it seemed that the documentary had moved away from talking about a specific place and was focusing now on the people living inside of these institutions. 

Goku flipped himself around so that he was sitting straight up yet again and he leaned forward. Yamcha stayed very still, bracing himself for questions. 

But questions never really came. Goku, instead, pointed at an adult woman on the screen who was being highlighted by the documentary. The words were speaking about her condition rather negatively, and she did look rather distressed in the video clip, but Yamcha picked up on the fact that the clip was taken very out of context and there was no way to tell if her behavior was reasonable considering the circumstances or not. She was a stranger in a horrible place, and Yamcha understood that. 

What Goku did say was not something Yamcha had expected him to say at all. 

"She's acting like I do sometimes. What did they say she had again?" 

"Uh...." 

"They said she had autism," Puar answered. 

"And other learning disabilities," Oolong added. 

Yamcha sighed a little. "Autism isn't really a learning disability, it's a developmental disability." 

"Like my head injury?" Goku asked. 

"Yeah, like your head injury, except she would've been born with it. Autism is a genetic condition. But there can be enough things in common with a TBI and autism that an autism diagnosis would be disregarded if evidence of a brain injury was presented.... Goku, what do you mean she's acting like you?" 

Yamcha never wouldn't made the comparison himself, since she looked so upset and angry and in pain. While he had seen Goku suffer, it was always in battle.... 

"Well, when I get angry, it feels like I'm gonna explode. I've always had someone to fight when it happened for the most part - like King Piccolo and Frieza - but when I didn't . . . well, it kinda looks like that, I think." 

"You think?" 

"Well, I've never had a mirror around...." 

Yamcha supposed that made some sense.... But it was so hard for him to imagine because Goku was so happy all the time. 

The documentary then cut to some video footage of the autistic woman when she was younger, before she was placed in the institution, and his eyes widened as he realized it was like seeing an entirely different person - just from having a smile on her face and being free. 

Goku's voice shook Yamcha out of the state the silent shock had put him in. 

"How'd she get the autism diagnosis?" 

"Uh.... A doctor does that.... A psychologist who has a license for that kind of testing...." 

"And why'd they get her one?" 

"Uh...." 

"Well, the government can give you help with stuff if you're disabled as long as you can prove it," Oolong said. "Like Yamcha's parking pass." 

"Mm-hm!" Puar agreed. 

Goku's brain was working to a conclusion before Yamcha could force himself to get in gear to take control of the conversation. 

"I want one!" 

"Huh?" Oolong, Yamcha, and Puar said together. 

Yamcha couldn't tell if Goku really understood what the documentary was about or if he was solely so focused on the fact that there were people with similar conditions to himself on the television screen. Yamcha wished he could read minds, or at least read Goku's mind. 

"Yeah! That way I can get help with stuff too! So things'll be easier around here!" 

For when the leg isn't keeping the head of the house from doing anything productive and leaving the two animals and the one who doesn't understand what's going on outside their apartment to take care of things. It was unsaid, but it was understood. 

Yamcha wished anthropomorphic animals and animals capable of human speech were allowed to earn more money legally than they were earning currently, that they could be official apartment renters, and things like that. So many things were different in the city than it was out in the rural areas, and so much had changed over the years. Simply being human gave Yamcha a lot of social privileges over his two friends, and Goku was entirely unaware of it and the strain it caused. 

But Goku obviously noticed that it was causing stress. And he obviously wanted to relieve said stress. 

Yamcha didn't agree to find Goku a way to get tested right away. But Goku ended up latching onto the idea and kept talking about it for days. Eventually Yamcha relented and he started looking doctors up in his free time. 

He wouldn't admit it, but it distracted him from his own disability issues and mental problems. Doing the research for Goku kept the suicidal thoughts away from a rather significant period, with much farther gaps in between them than ever before since he was brought back to life. 

He eventually came across Mrs. Briefs's name on a list of people qualified to do the testing, and he immediately knew who to take Goku to. 

Yamcha called up the Briefs residence and actually got Vegeta on the phone. 

"Oh it's you. Bulma!" 

"Actually, Vegeta, I wanna talk to her mom." 

". . . Panty! Phone for you!" 

Yamcha set up an appointment for Goku - "Oh don't you worry about the money, sweetheart! I'll test Goku for free! It's the least I can do for family friends! And it can be so expensive." "Thanks, Mrs. Briefs.' - and on the day of, Yamcha and Goku headed for the Briefs residence. 

It ended up being multiple visits to the Briefs house, and on some of those visits, Goten, Gohan, and Chichi were visiting as well. Goten and Trunks played together of course, and Yamcha awkwardly filled Chichi and Gohan in on what he and Goku were doing. 

Chichi looked genuinely surprised that Goku was getting tested for anything. 

"Well, he figured that having proof that he really was hit on the head as a kid might help with stuff around the apartment and at work - " 

"He hit his head as a kid? He never told me that...." 

Yamcha wasn't sure what to say to that. 

After his sessions with Mrs. Briefs, Goku always shared what the tests were like with him afterwards over dinner. 

"Today she had me mimic designs on the piece of paper with some blocks. I don't know how I did on that one, but they looked pretty and it was kinda fun. I didn't like the math part. She said that the math problems were from basic middle school tests, but it took me a real long time and I didn't ever finish them all. She said not to worry about it 'cause we're not aiming for me to get them all right but to show what I'm able to do, but my head kept hurting when it took too long to do them and I told her about that like she asked me to beforehand." 

"She asked me a lot about Master Roshi's lessons and stuff Grandpa taught me. I'm not sure, but she looked kinda concerned when I told her some stuff...." He trailed off after saying that and refused to elaborate on what he meant by 'some stuff.' 

"I had to read paragraphs and then remember what was in them, and I'm not too good at reading, so I dunno how well I did at that either, but if I had read it properly I remembered it really well. That counts for something, right?" 

"We did a thing with a tape recorder and remembering stuff that they said on the tape. I really didn't do too good on that 'cause I remembered and picked up on different stuff than I was supposed to be remembering. The topics and stuff were just real boring, but I did try to remember it.... The guy on the tape talked funny, though." 

"I didn't like today's test. I had to read a bunch of nonsense words that all sounded the same.... I kinda broke the table 'cause I got frustrated, but it was an accident and she says we don't have to pay her back." 

It was a few weeks until they got the results back. Gohan, Chichi, and Goten happened to be there again. Gohan was a ways away from the group, but Yamcha knew the kid was listening. Goten and Trunks, on the other hand, were in the other room playing Trunks's video games. 

Bulma and Vegeta sat at the table with Yamcha, Goku, and Chichi. 

"Now Goku, you're comfortable with everyone hearing what the results are, correct?" Dr. Briefs asked. 

Goku nodded. "Yep!" 

"All right. Go ahead, honey." 

Yamcha frowned as he noticed that Dr. and Mrs. Briefs were awfully nervous. 

"Well, Goku, um.... Well, you see, your results were . . . and remember, they don't reflect on who you are as a person at all! You're very sweet and kind and - !" 

"What she's trying to say is - " Dr. Briefs interjected. 

"That even while taking into account how little formal education you've had and the type of life you've led, your math and readings skills do leave a lot to be desired, but even your ability to listen to and absorb information is, um - " 

She was starting to sweat and seemed to be too concerned with hurting Goku's feelings somehow. Yamcha's frown deepened, and Bulma and Chichi started to look concerned. Goku just stared at her, blinking and waiting. 

Dr. Briefs sighed heavily. "What she's trying to say is that you're severely retarded." 

" _Sweetums_!" Mrs. Briefs scolded. "I've told you for the last ten to fifteen years, we don't use that word anymore!" 

"Well, you were taking too long, and look, he clearly understands what that means a lot better than hearing his math and reading and info processing skills are subpar at best and abysmal at worst." 

Goku's eyes widened, and while Yamcha definitely knew Goku knew what that meant, it also meant that Goku had no idea how to react to the fact that someone he trusted and cared about - his best friend's father - just threw a slur at him to tell him what his condition was. 

Goku chose to just roll with it, even if his head was starting to feel funny. 

"So . . . so that means . . . ?" 

Mrs. Briefs sighed heavily, then looked at Goku. "It means that unless you got as serious about reading and math and other things as you do with fighting and martial arts, your math skills and reading ability will most likely never improve beyond what they are right now, and . . . ." 

She bit her lip, clearly reluctant to finish her thought. 

"And we should probably not go around telling everybody about it. With how severe your case is, the fact that you walk around and act pretty normal won't matter to the government. If the government finds out, they'll take you away and put you in some kind of institution or something. And even if you did resist and get away, any violence shown on your part reflects negatively on the mentally challenged as a whole and those who can't run away or protect themselves face a lot of danger. Do you understand?" 

Goku furrowed his eyebrows, which was a good sign that Goku was hearing them both but hadn't quite connected the dots yet. 

"And that's not even going into the fact that if it went into an official folder and was put into some kind of file that I haven't put together yet, you wouldn't be allowed to hold a job and if you and Chichi were still married, she'd get into a lot of trouble," Mrs. Briefs said. 

Chichi's fingers tightened around her cup of tea, and Yamcha kept his head down, not looking at her. He was very familiar with the law that had been passed around the time that Gohan would've been five years old that said that those considered too intellectually disabled to be capable of consent would not be allowed to marry or have consensual sex with anyone, according to the government. Articles in the newspapers had a decent number of retroactive arrests when the law was first passed. Children were taken from mothers and fathers alike, because one parent was legally a rapist and the other was deemed incapable of caring for a child. Many of those children would end up lost in the system, and those with their parent's intellectual disability were often abused or even murdered by adopted parents they did get. 

It was enough to make King Piccolo look generous and kind. 

"What do you mean?" Goku asked. "Why would Chichi get into trouble?" 

Chichi brought her hands to her forehead. This was clearly taking a toll on her, no differently than hearing Goku had no idea how babies were made had taken a toll. 

"It means the law doesn't see you as capable of consenting to sex or marriage, meaning anything that occurred between the two of you, according to the government, was nonconsensual and coerced," Dr. Briefs explained. 

"But. But I agreed to it," Goku said. "I wanted to marry Chichi."

"Goku, the fact that you didn't know how babies were made until just a a year ago doesn't play well in your or Chichi's favor. But it doesn't matter, since we're not going to tell anyone. And there's no point in beating a dead horse, so to speak, since you're not married anymore. Though," Dr. Briefs turned to Yamcha, but Yamcha cut him off. 

"Goku and I don't have sex. That's not an issue," Yamcha said very curtly; it surprised Goku and made him look over at him. 

"Tch. This is stupid," Vegeta said. "He's capable of saying the words "yes" and "no," how more capable do you need him to be?" 

"Well, I don't know how it is in space, but sex and sexual violence here on Earth can get . . . complicated." Dr. Briefs said. 

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, and Mrs. Briefs started to look increasingly uncomfortable. 

Gohan approached the table after having been staring out the window for the entire conversation, then sat down between his mother and Vegeta. (Bulma and Vegeta sat across from each other, with Dr. Briefs on Bulma's left and Mrs. Briefs on Vegeta's right. Yamcha was on Bulma's other side, and Goku was beside Yamcha and Chichi.) 

"Would you say that's why Dad doesn't get what being a parent is?" Gohan asked rather bluntly. 

Everyone stared at Gohan for a while, then Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs gave conflicting answers. 

"Well, I would say yes," Dr. Briefs said. 

"I wouldn't say that," Mrs. Briefs said at the same time as her husband. 

They then looked at each other, at first surprised by the other, then seeming frustrated with the other. 

"He can't process the social norms around him the same way as we do, how _can_ you expect him to know how to behave?" 

"He's not incapable of learning, it requires an actual genuine interest in it. If he wanted to be a father that was active in his sons' lives, he would be one. It doesn't take a bonk on the head to be a disinterested father!" 

"You're getting too emotional about this - " 

"You're being too analytical and not being reasonable!" 

"Being analytical is the definition of being reasonable!" 

"You're not taking the human condition and people's feelings and interests into account! Those are influencing factors!" 

"You have to be a _scientist_ about these matters!" 

"What is science worth without taking into account the effect it'll have on those around us!?" 

"Science is _everything_!" 

"STOP FIGHTING!" Goku ended up shouting, surprising everyone. "I can't understand what you're even arguing about, and whenever people yell all I hear is -" And he mimicked an absolutely terrifying sound that definitely was once bellowed by a very angry monkey. Everyone but Vegeta fell out of their seats, startled, but Vegeta just snorted and smirked. 

"Let me guess, that's how your ex-wife sounded for the majority of your marriage," Vegeta said, not sorry about taking a jab at Chichi and making Gohan pissed at him for it. 

Goku pouted. "Well, the answer is yes, but I don't think that tone is appropriate right now, Vegeta." 

Vegeta shrugged, not caring that much. "You're probably right." 

Trunks and Goten entered the room. 

"What's going on?"

"Is everyone okay?" 

Bulma sighed, then got up to make more tea for everyone. 

"We're fine, guys, just . . . just arguing about science," Gohan said, sounding tired. 

They all stopped talking about it and had more tea, then everyone went to their respective homes. 

Yamcha worked on making dinner, then went to get Goku when he saw Goku was watching more documentaries. 

He seemed to realize just what they meant by the institutions they sent mentally ill and developmentally disabled people to, and Yamcha wished he could protect him from the sinking realization that if the world knew, they would only see him as a soulless, stupid monster deserving to be tortured in these facilities. 

"Goku, why don't we turn that off?" 

"We can save them, can't we?" 

Goku turned his head to Yamcha. 

"Can't we, Yamcha? With the Dragon Balls or - or by going Super Saiyan or - ? Or _something_?" 

Yamcha honestly didn't know what to say. He wanted to say yes. 

But he didn't know what to say.


End file.
